A. Problem Analysis

1. What was the problem before the implementation of the initiative?

MSME entrepreneurs are expected to be conversant with many acts and rules of the government, especially the ones that are applicable to it. However, the information is not available at one place for ready reference. Furthermore, the contents of some of these may be difficult to comprehend owing to complex structure and language.
Due to lack of access to information, the MSME Entrepreneurs are required to run around various departments / agencies / offices for enquiry, consultation, guidance and finally to submit application to various government departments. Apart from the usual harassment they often become victims of unscrupulous agents/touts. Even after all this, multiple visits are required to the concerned offices for follow up and for final collection of certificate/license. This remains one of the biggest challenges and a disincentive for an entrepreneur to start a new venture or to diversify or expand.

B. Strategic Approach

2. What was the solution?

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles Department, Government of West Bengal carried out extensive interaction with the MSME entrepreneurs and consultation with Industry Associations to improve the business environment and ease of doing business. The Department in interaction with the MSME entrepreneurs and Industry Associations felt the need to create a business-enabled environment towards demystifying and simplifying the process of establishing and doing business in the State. Launching of myEnterprise.wb.gov.in portal is an initiative by Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises & Textiles (MSME&T) towards innovative use of technology for ease of doing business among entrepreneurs in MSME sector in West Bengal to create a single digital platform for providing all kinds of support and services to MSME entrepreneurs for starting a new venture and /or expanding the existing unit.
Through interaction with the entrepreneurs and consultation with Industry Associations to improve business environment, the MSME&T department prioritized the following areas:
Acts and Rules: myenterprisewb.in portal provides simplified versions of relevant portions of different Acts and Rules in an attempt to make them easy to understand even by an ordinary person. FAQs are provided for further assistance to the users.
Government Incentives: This portal provides a detail of incentives as covered under various policies of Government of West Bengal viz. MSME Policy 2013-18, Textile Policy 2013-18 and WBIS 2014 for Approved Industrial Park, etc..
Statutory compliance: An entrepreneur is not aware of compliances that apply to its enterprise. This portal attempts to reduce the burden of search on the entrepreneur. There is a format given here that the entrepreneur needs to fill in to provide all the necessary information about its enterprise. Once the fully filled-in proforma is submitted a checklist of statutory compliances required for that particular enterprise is provided.
Location of My Government Offices: This portal gives the location of the different government offices at state, regional, district and sub-district levels that provide services to the MSME sector. The user will get the benefit of identifying the ones in whose jurisdiction its enterprise falls.
My Entitlement: Reading through different incentive policies and government circulars gives sufficient information on the benefits/ incentives that an entrepreneur is entitled for. Based on the information provided by the user of this portal, a checklist of entitlements is displayed that would help the entrepreneur plan its project accordingly or claim them from the concerned department office.
Entrepreneur’s Memorandum: This portal provides filing of EM-I & EM-II on-line replacing the earlier system of manual filing.
Factory License: This portal provides the facility of making application for registration or renewal of Factory license on-line. With provision of getting system generated acknowledgement.
Single Application Gateway (SAG): This is one of the most unique features of this portal. It provides facility of applying for various permissions, NOCs, licenses, permits, intimation etc. to different government offices. An application made through SAG straightway goes to MSME Facilitation Centre (MFC) set up in every District Industries Centre which has been acting as a dedicated service provider in respect of all kinds of issues related to MEME sector starting from submission of application to delivery of certificates/ licenses. Necessary counselling, handholding support to entrepreneurs is done by the centre. The MFC is managed by specially trained officers under the overall supervision of the General Manager, District Industries Centre.

3. How did the initiative solve the problem and improve people’s lives?

• Increased efficiency of outputs/ processes and effectiveness of outcomes
 Access to information on various issues made simplified & easy
 Number of queries on statutory compliance and government incentives reduced significantly.
 Multiple visits to government offices get eliminated
 Application for factory registration/renewal increased
 Bank credit flow has increased substantially
 Capacity of departmental officials to handle problems & issues has improved
 Accessibility - myEnterprise.wb.gov.in portal is web-based and can be accessed free of cost from any location on 24x7 basis, even at remotest place if a computer and internet connection is available.
• Innovativeness of the initiative
Passive information on
 Simplified Acts, Rules, statutory compliance, forms with checklist and dummy forms.
 Details of entitlements- whom to apply, how and what to expect.
 Bulletin Board- for information dissemination.
Active Information on
 On line registration for EM I & EM II
 On line Registration/ renewal of Factory License
 Integration with Single Application Gateway - facility to apply for permissions, NOCs, licenses – from different government agencies.

C. Execution and Implementation

4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?

The details of base line study done
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles Department, Government of West Bengal carried out extensive interaction with the MSME entrepreneurs and consultation with Chambers of Commerce, Industry Associations to improve the business environment and ease of doing business.
Problems identified
For lack of access to information, availability of adequate & timely credit, access to appropriate technology etc, the MSME Entrepreneurs are required to run around various departments / banks /agencies / offices for enquiry, consultation, guidance and finally to submit application to various government departments. Apart from the usual harassment they often become victims of unscrupulous agents/touts. Even after all this, multiple visits are required to the concerned offices /banks for follow up and for final collection of certificate/license., sanction of loan etc. This remains one of the biggest challenges and a disincentive for an entrepreneur to start a new venture or to diversify or expand.
Organization of event-‘SYNERGY MSME’
The Department of MSME&T has already organized one state level and three regional level SYNERGY, the unique and branded event to address the various issues of MSMEs under one umbrella with all departments related to MSME sector, banks/FIs, service providers, Chambers of Commerce/Industry Associations, NGOs for trouble shooting, clarification and providing on spot solutions & services of their issues, process streamlining and for capacity building of officers & entrepreneurs.
Capacity building of officers/ entrepreneurs
All officers of the Directorate of MSME from Joint Director to Industrial Development Officers are being trained by Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in a phased manner to transform them to industry facilitator from industry regulator. They have also undergone courses on Project Management / Financial Literacy by experts of ‘Intuit’.
For capacity building of entrepreneurs several courses on EDP, Financial Literacy, Corporate Governance etc are being organized in the business conclave “SYNERGY MSME”.
Infrastructure Development/monitoring
- Digitized office for MFC at DIC having online service facility.
- Creation of resource library (Acts, Rules, Circulars, orders etc).
- Specially trained dedicated officers under the guidance of General Manager, DIC.
- Industry friendly environment.
- Tagging of Relationship Officer to entrepreneurs intend to set up an enterprise
- Monitoring by Directorate/ Department
Roll out/ implementation model
The portal is web-based and can be accessed free of cost from any location on 24x7 basis.
Communication and dissemination strategy and approach used
The portal provides simplified version of all information to make them easy to understand even by a lay person. The portal is also being developed in Bengali language to ensure citizen friendliness for all categories of users.

5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?

Extensive and regular Interaction with entrepreneurs, Chambers of Commerce/Industry associations for problem identification
- Taking up the problems with concerned departments, organized meetings for process simplification, avoid redundancy, reduce complexities, introduction of online services
- Simplification of relevant Acts & Rules, get them vetted from concerned departments.
- All officers of the Directorate of MSME from Joint Director to Industrial Development Officers are being trained by Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in a phased manner to transform them to industry facilitator from industry regulator. They have also undergone courses on Project Management / Financial Literacy by experts of ‘Intuit’.
- For capacity building of entrepreneurs several courses on Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) , Financial Literacy, Corporate Governance etc are being organized in the business conclave “SYNERGY MSME” to obtain feedback from the community.

6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?

• The web portal myenterprisewb was developed by professional agency
• The contents of the site is generated in consultation with all the stakeholders under the guidance of the Department of MSME&T, GoWB
• A professional agency has developed the Single Application Gateway pilot module under the overall consultation with the different departments of the State Government.
• Over 75 government departments, banks/financial institution, knowledge institutions, private service providers, NGOs are being consulted.
• NIESSBUD has been engaged by the Department for setting up the MSME Facilitation Center, which aims in providng facilitation support to the entrepreneurs in collaboration with the information available in myenterprisewb portal and Single Application Gateway.
• Orientation and Workshops have been carried out with the District Industries Centre (DIC) officials together with the officials of the other departments.
• The initiative is funded by the Government of West Bengal.

7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?

a. Acts and Rules: myenterprisewb.in portal provides simplified versions of relevant portions of different Acts and Rules in an attempt to make them easy to understand even by an ordinary person.
b. Government Incentives & My Entitlements: This portal provides a detail of incentives as covered under various policies of Government of West Bengal.
Reading through different incentive policies and government circulars gives sufficient information on the benefits/ incentives that an entrepreneur is entitled for. Based on the information provided by the user of this portal, a checklist of entitlements is displayed that would help the entrepreneur plan its project accordingly or claim them from the concerned department office.
c. Statutory compliance: Entrepreneurs are not aware of many compliances that apply to its enterprise. This portal attempts to reduce the burden of search on the entrepreneur. There is a format given here that the entrepreneur needs to fill in to provide all the necessary information about its enterprise. Once the fully filled-in proforma is submitted a checklist of statutory compliances required for that particular enterprise is provided.
d. On-line filing of Entrepreneur’s Memorandum (EM) and Factory Licesnse: This portal provides filing of EM-Part I & EM-Part II on-line replacing the earlier system of manual filing.
This portal also provides the facility of making application for registration or renewal of Factory license on-line, with provision of getting system generated acknowledgement.
Single Application Gateway (SAG) - New Models of Service Delivery. This is one of the most unique features of this portal. It provides facility of applying for various permissions, NOCs, licenses, permits, intimation etc. to different government offices. An application made through SAG straightway goes to MSME Facilitation Centre (MFC) set up in every District Industries Centre which has been acting as a dedicated service provider in respect of all kinds of issues related to MEME sector from submission of application to delivery of certificates/ licenses etc. Necessary counselling, handholding support to entrepreneurs is done by the centre. The MFC is managed by dedicated & specially trained officers.

8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?

Regular feedback from Chambers of Commerce/ Industry Associations are undertaken to ensure that the initiative has huge impact among entrepreneurs and they are using this portal to their advantages. Various entrepreneurs and industry associations have provided positive feedback (over 40,000 nos.) on the benefits of the portal particularly related to significantly reducing the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs and businesses in complying with regulatory requirements and savings in the cost and time for obtaining information and getting approvals for starting and operating a business.
The Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles is monitoring the portal and based on the suggestions/ feedback from different Chambers of Commerce, Industry Associations, related Government Departments and entrepreneurs , the portal is updated and further improvement is undertaken to cater the needs of the entrepreneurs arising from time to time.

9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?

• Challenge in obtaining complete information from the various government departments.
• The updation of the contents of the portal with respect to latest Laws, Acts, Policies, Incentives and Statutory Compliance forms and other related information are undertaken by professional agency to ensure that the information provided to the entrepreneurs are always up-to-date.

D. Impact and Sustainability

10. What were the key benefits resulting from this initiative?

Issue Indicators Before the initiative After the initiative
Improvement in delivery time of service EM-I & EM-II Number: 700-725/month
Time: 55 min on an average 1100-1200/ month
30 min. i.e time reduced
Factory registration/ renewal Data not available Over 7600 so far.
Improved access to information
Awareness generation
Entrepreneurs needed to visit government offices for getting information for setting up an enterprise, clarifications on Acts & Rules on statutory compliances, entitlements on government incentives etc. or camps were held for the same. All information placed in the portal starting from guidance for setting up an enterprise ( by linking to SmallB.in) to entitlements. Entrepreneurs are now much more literate on Acts, Rules, statutory compliance, government’s schemes /incentives etc.
Query on statutory compliance & government incentive
Number- on an average 10 per day per DIC On an average 3 per day per DIC i.e entrepreneurs need not visit DIC for getting information, portal provides them required information. Over 40000 entrepreneurs availed of the benefits of this portal so far.
Institutional Finance Bank credit flow Rs. 10, 484 Cr.
( 2012-13) Rs. 21,842 Cr (2013-14) indicating a phenomenal 108 % growth on YoY basis.
Simplified procedure Information on Acts & Rules Numerous Acts & Rules (about 68). Whole of the different Acts may not applicable to MSMEs. Not in one place. Difficult to understand for complex structure and language. Entrepreneurs had to depend on legal consultant. Only relevant portions of Acts & Rules applicable to MSMEs have been extracted and simplified with F.A.Q. Lucid language and hence easy to understand. So, dependency on legal experts reduced significantly, saving money.
Information on Statutory compliance No system to know the statutory requirements for ones unit at single point. Had to run various departments/ offices, required multiple visits resulting in loss of time & energy. Entrepreneurs need to fill up a simple questionnaire about its unit. Once the fully filled-in pro-forma is submitted a checklist of statutory compliances required for that particular enterprise is provided. Eliminates multiple visits to government offices. Saving precious time & reduce hassle.
Information on Government Incentive Had to go through Notification/ required visit to offices. This was subject to various distortions. By filling in a format, the entrepreneur is provided the item of incentives for which the unit is eligible. No need to visit office. So, there is complete transparency in entitlements. Entrepreneurs can download the entitlements, take a print out and claim incentives.

11. Did the initiative improve integrity and/or accountability in public service? (If applicable)

The portal is hosted in the state government data centre and therefore leverage upon the shared government infrastructure. The application can be adopted as model by other departments wherever applicable and also the banks/ financial institutions by using the portal as platform for bank loan processing.
• Sustainability of the initiative
- Regular, time bound updation through professional agency.
- Low cost web based assistance.
- Intensive trainings of all Directorate level officials at IIM Calcutta- from Joint Director to Industrial Development Officers DICs- handholding support
- Regular feedback taken from stakeholders for updation; robust system architecture, network of secure computers connecting MSME HQs to regional and field offices (State Data Centre- 19 Districts – 341 Blocks)
• Transferability: The initiative can be replicated to provide application facility for various banks for availing loans. The application can be adopted as model by other departments wherever applicable and also the banks/ financial institutions by using the portal as platform for bank loan processing.
• Efforts are put in place to ensure that the information and forms available from the portal are latest and are always updated within standard timeframe from the date changes in the information and forms are notified.

12. Were special measures put in place to ensure that the initiative benefits women and girls and improves the situation of the poorest and most vulnerable? (If applicable)

The processing of application for statutory clearances by different government offices has become easier and less time consuming as the application made through the Application Gateway are being verified before submission for its completeness with respect to checklist and chances of rejection/ resubmission are minimised.
Based on the evaluation of the initiative, MSME&T Department proposes to set up MSME Facilitation Centres (MFC) tagged with a Single Application Gateway (SAG) at the District Industries Centres (DIC) to provide facilitation services to entrepreneurs in the area of statutory compliances and availing of government incentives. The MSME Facilitation Centres (MFC) are envisaged to act as authorised representative of the entrepreneur for receiving applications, follow-up and collection of certificates/ licenses after processing by the departments/agency for onward delivery to the entrepreneur.
The portal is tagged with an Application Gateway that provides facility of applying for various permissions, NOCs, licenses, permits, intimation, etc. to different government offices/ agencies. The Application Gateway is to act as a ‘virtual single point’ to receive all applications made by an entrepreneur to different government entities for statutory compliance and for availing of government incentives.

Contact Information

Institution Name:

Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles, Government of West Bengal